Stand Firm

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

 This verse came to me very clearly while we were visiting in the States these past two months. Sometimes I feel like when we are in the States we are wasting time by not being on the mission field and that our work is in vain.  Even in the states we don't waste any time! We visited 10 churches and some of them twice, in the 10 weeks we were there all the way from Florida to Virginia. We enjoyed church services, bible studies, and even a women's Christmas dinner. It was great to worship and speak at many churches. We appreciate the hospitality that we received at every church. We also thank all of the families that hosted us or let us stay with them as we were traveling. Now that we are back home, with the Christmas season here we are working hard to get everything accomplished. We are very thankful for the Elders and Deacons here that kept things running while we were away. 

Update on the building: While we were in the states we were able to raise some funds for our Church home. We now have a total of $14,000! Yea God! We are still needing individuals, small groups, or Sunday school classes to buy a meter. You can buy a meter for $100 or even split it up into so much per month. You can donate through paypal at the donate button on this site or write a check to the address below. 

Please pray for the following things: 

*The owner to give us a great price for the land and building. 

*The owner to work with us to do a lease purchase (not common at all in Albania! but God can do it!)

*Us to raise the rest of the funds needed.

A great blessing while we were in the States, Arian was asked to preach at the Colonial Hills Church of Christ in Norfolk, Virginia. It was a great honor for him to be asked to preach. He was nervous of course preaching in English, but did a great job! 

At the Huntsville Space Center

We were able to bring Arian's parents to the States for the first time as well. They were with us for almost three weeks. We took them to see many places and we drug them along to churches while we were there. Arian's dad especially liked the churches. Arian's parents are not believers and didn't attend church before. Now since they have been home they have been attend church for four Sundays in a row! It was nice to be able to worship with them the past Sunday. Pray for their salvation.  

"I need a bathroom." While we were having church services this week a sweet member of the church in Kavaje, Vathja who never asks for anything told us the story about not having a bathroom. She said please pray that I will get a bathroom. She doesn't want indoor pluming. She only wants an outhouse set up outside. She has been living for a longtime with out a bathroom in her house. We think that for $300 we could build her a good outhouse. I can't imagine not having a bathroom especially one in the house. Please pray that we can get the money to help her and her family with this need. 

Praises/ Prayers:         

*Funding of a new Church home for us.

*Pray that more will come to Christ here in Albania.

*Praise the plane flight back was great with David and he is finally over all his sickness.     
*Pray for Vathja and her family to get a bathroom. 

Merry Christmas! God bless!

Serving in His name,
Arian & Stefanie Kosta
kkdurres@gmail.com
Address: L3 Rr Egnatia AP:1043 Durres, Albania

Follow us on Facebook: Kisha Kristiane Albania 

Donation address (tax deductable): 

Make check to McDonough Christian Church

McDonough Christian Church, 
Attn: Lisa Thomas-Albania building Fund, 
2000 Jonesboro Rd. 
McDonough, Ga 30253

Islam on the rise, Christianity declining

Matthew 24:6 

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 

If you have watched the news in the last month you are probably shocked and alarmed with what is happening with ISIS. It has raised my attention to study and prayer on the religion of Islam.

Albania is 59% Muslim. In the center of town is always a mosque. You see people occasionally wearing head dresses or men with long beards significant of practicing Muslims. Never have I felt threatened or in danger of them. The more alarming facts are that Islam is on the rise all over the world. According to a report, Christian growth has stagnated globally while Islam's numbers have almost doubled. The UK telegraph reports that in 2011 the people of England and Wales who described themselves as Christians fell by 4.1 million, but the number of Muslims surged by 75%. Census analysis estimates that Islam could be the dominate religion in 10 years in the UK and other European countries. 

So what about America? In 1990 there were 50 Islamic schools in America, today the number is over 200. And since 1990 the number of Islamic mosques has tripled to more than 2,500. The truth is Islam is here. The worst is not yet over. We need to step up our prayer, evangelism, and study. I want to be able to say, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7 We are continuing here to convert Muslims to the Christian faith. We will not give up!

Juli with chef's hat

Stefano, Jak, Bledi, Mateu

Some of our youth were able to attend a Christian conference in Pogradec, Albania for a week. They were excited to spend a week in fellowship, prayer and study growing closer to God. The theme of the conference was a guide in hard times. Juli went as staff and spent a some time helping in the kitchen. They also spent a day praying for the situation in Syria and praying for Albania as well. We were glad that they were able to go. Please pray for these youth as they continue their faith in the Lord. 

Romi one of our Deacons preached for the first time in Durres. Romi is a great servant of the Lord. We are excited about what God is doing in Romi's life! Romi along with one of our youth, Sabina desires to go to Bible school here in Durres. It is a year long program that starts on September 15th. We are praying that some extra funding would come to be able to pay for them to go to school. The cost is $600 for both. 

Member Spotlight: 
We are excited about the growth of the church in Kavaje. Denisi one of our Deacons, him and his wife Antoneta proudly announce the birth of their second daughter, Arsela. Arsela had a bacterial problem when she was first born but now she is doing well. We are very happy for this precious family! 

Special Prayer Request: 
We are having a BBQ cookout at the church in Kavaje on September 28th. This will be our first fellowship event for the church and we are praying for them to invite their family and friends. We hope for a big turnout! Please pray for this to be a great outreach to the community. 

Update on Building: We are still in the process of raising funds for our new building. We have raised about $7,000! Yea Go God! We still have a long way to go to meet our goal of $50,000. Please help! Even as little as $10 per month would help us out tremendously! Please pray that we will be able to raise the funds. If you would like to donate see the donate button via paypal or the donate address below to send a check. If you have any questions please email us.

Praises/ Prayers:         

*Funding of a new Church home for us.

*Pray that we will be effective servants to reach Muslims for Christ!   

We would love to hear from you! God bless!
 
Serving in His name,
Arian & Stefanie Kosta
kkdurres@gmail.com
Address: L3 Rr Egnatia AP:1043 Durres, Albania   

Follow us on Facebook: Kisha Kristiane Albania 

Donation address: Make check to McDonough Christian Church

McDonough Christian Church, Attn: Lisa Thomas-Albania building Fund, 2000 Jonesboro Rd. McDonough, Ga 30253

Slow to speak, quick to listen

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;  for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.

James 1:19-20 NRSV

I need to take this verse and put it in a prominent place because I need this verse every day. Trials come and go but when practicing this verse while you are going through the trial, God gives you the ability to listen and understand what He is teaching you. Be encouraged by this verse today! 

We have been very busy and very encouraged this past month. We have had several visitors from all over, Finland, Italy, Romania, America, Ireland, and Greece. It has been a pleasure to meet all of you and for you to see a little of the ministry here in Albania! We are especially grateful that our friend Julie came all the way from America to work with us on the mission field. It has been hard but she has been a great encourager the whole time for us and others! 

We have several updates to tell you about. Klara, her mom Mara and sister Kejsi were able to worship with us several times in Durres and Kavaje. Klara is still very sick and her skin and eyes look very jaundiced. She has a rare blood disorder and needs a bone marrow transplant. She is visiting Albania and her family for the summer and she will return to Italy in September for more blood transfusions and treatments. We were very excited to be able to spend some time with them. Please pray for Klara and her family.

Julie absolutely fell in love with Hekuran. We were able to go and visit him several times. Thank all of you for your prayers and support for Hekuran. He is now 5 months old. He is still very little and weak. His stomach is having a hard time keeping down the formula that we are buying for him. We will try something else to help him. We have bought him cloth diapers because his mom was going all day keeping him in the same disposable diaper. Now they will be able to wash them and not have to buy disposable ones. Hekuran gets very little attention and when we go we always pick him up and sing to him. Julie even got him to smile! Please continue to pray for Hekuran. 

A BIG Praise! We were able to find a small room for our Kids club in Kavaje! Now the children don't have to be out in the sun. The room was very dirty and filled with broken bricks and we had to clean it up, but the children were very glad to help us! We are glad that God answers prayers fast! Thank you for your prayers for this! 

 

This is Emilian he is 5 years old. When he came to kids club this week he wasn't wearing shoes and wearing winter clothes because that was all he had. He had a big cut on the bottom of his foot. We had one pair of extra shoes that someone had given us and they were the right size for him! Thank you God for providing! We wish that we had more kids shoes to share with the children because half of them come without shoes.

We have been praying a lot for a spiritual change in our Women's Bible study on Thursday mornings. With the help of God I (Stefanie) have been leading Women's Bible study with the help of Shpresa. Now the Women are opening up and sharing their hearts and lives with us. We have a great time of laughing and crying together! Please continue to pray for the spiritual growth of these women. 

Please continue to pray for the old home. The director of the old home is still not allowing us to do a service there. We still do go and visit and pray with the residents and give them a snack. We pray that the director will allow us to have a service there again soon. Here is a picture of Stefanie with Flamuri one of the residents. 

 
Update on Building: We are still in the process of raising funds for our new building. We have raised $6,000! Yea Go God! We still have a long way to go to meet our goal of $50,000. Please help! Even as little as $10 per month would help us out tremendously! Please pray that we will be able to raise the funds. If you would like to donate see the donate button via paypal or the donate address below to send a check. If you have any questions please email us.

Praises/ Prayers:         

*Funding of a new Church home for us.    
*Pray that more people would open their hearts to help us serve and grow Albania for Christ.   

We would love to hear from you! God bless!
 
Serving in His name,
Arian & Stefanie Kosta
kkdurres@gmail.com
Address: L3 Rr Egnatia AP:1043 Durres, Albania   

Follow us on Facebook: Kisha Kristiane Albania 

Donation address: Make check to McDonough Christian Church

McDonough Christian Church, Attn: Lisa Thomas-Albania building Fund, 2000 Jonesboro Rd. McDonough, Ga 30253

  

Jesus is coming are you ready?

Arian and I were honored to be able to attend a conference this month in Leece, Italy held by our brother in Christ Pino Neglia.  The title of the conference was Christ is coming. We broke into small groups and discussed were we ready for Christ's return. I have always thought that since I was a Christian I was ready but in the past couple of years since marrying Arian, I have decided that I am not ready for Christ's return. Here's the reason why. Doing mission work here in Albania I see lots of people who need God's salvation. One big thing on my heart is Arian's parents who are not saved. We try our best to show and tell them about the love of Christ and we pray that one day that they will believe in Jesus. Personally I am ready for Christ's return but there is a lot of work here to do. I pray that the people of Albania would one day cry out to God. 
 
At the conference on Sunday morning we got to sing "Light of the world" in Albanian with another couple Mondi Gjoni and his wife Fjoralba. We were in Italy singing in Albanian only God understood us but it was a pleasure to sing! 


Kids club in Kavaje is going well. We have seen more children coming and they are very attentive for the bible lesson and memory verse. We have been meeting outside for the past two months. We currently don't have a place to meet. The room we were meeting in during the winter, the owner decided he didn't want us there anymore. Now we are meeting outside with no shade and it is HOT! Please pray that we find a room to use soon. Here is a picture of this weeks kids club. 

Update on Building: We are still in the process of raising funds for our new building. We have raised $5,000! Yea Go God! We still have a long way to go to meet our goal of $50,000. Please help! Even as little as $10 per month would help us out tremendously! Please pray that we will be able to raise the funds. If you would like to donate see the donate button via paypal or the donate address below to send a check. If you have any questions please email us.
 

Member Spotlight: Artur is our newest member of the church in Kavaje. He is 46 years old and engaged to marry Lume another member of our church who is blind. Lume also 46, has been praying for a husband for a long time. Artur is from Berat a city about two hours from Kavaje. He is a registered physical therapist and is looking for a job in Kavaje. He loves Lume very much and is helping her take care of her sick dad now. He has been asking Arian many questions about faith. He has also been attending men's Bible Study in Kavaje. He is very excited to learn as much as he can about our Lord. We pray for Artur and that he will be baptized soon! 
 
Here is a picture from one of our youth outings. They went to the 6D cinema in Durres. Please pray for the Spiritual growth of our youth. The world is a big temptation for the youth! 





  

Praises/ Prayers:    
*Pray for Artur and his baptism.     

*Funding of a new Church home for us.    

*Pray that more people would open their hearts to help us serve and grow Albania for Christ.   

*Praise David is starting to walk! Pray for us as parents to keep up with him! 

 
We would love to hear from you! God bless!

Serving in His name,
Arian & Stefanie Kosta
kkdurres@gmail.com
Address: L3 Rr Egnatia AP:1043 Durres, Albania   

 

Follow us on Facebook: Kisha Kristiane Albania

Donation address: Make check to McDonough Christian Church

McDonough Christian Church, Attn: Lisa Thomas-Albania building Fund, 2000 Jonesboro Rd. McDonough, Ga 30253

 

Making Disciples

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16

Kisha Kristiane Albania is working hard to create disciples who work in serving and changing lives for His Kingdom. We are blessed that God has given us this opportunity. We pray that we continue walk in Jesus' shoes. Here's the latest updates of what God is doing in the ministry. 

We had the privilege this past Sunday and Wednesday to ordain three brothers in Christ into the ministry of Deacon. They are true examples of what it means to serve others. They are very humble Godly men and it was an honor to ordain them into the ministry. We pray that God continues to use them and their families. People in the photo from left to right: Timothy (missionary in Albania), Denisi, Juli, Romi, and Arian. 

More exciting news this month is the baptism of Vathia and Davidi. I have introduced you to Vathia and her family before and asking for prayer for them to follow Christ and be baptized. Davidi is one of Juli's little brothers. It was a great priviledge for Juli to baptize his brother. It is such a blessing to have more brothers and sisters in Christ!

Update on Building: We are still in the process of raising funds for our new building. We have raised only about 10% so far. Please help! Even as little as $10 per month would help us out tremendously! Please pray that we will be able to raise the funds. If you would like to donate see the donate button via paypal or the donate address below to send a check. If you have any questions please email us.

Member Spotlight: Ana, Hekuran (3 mo.), and Toni (3yr.). This family has been on our hearts a lot lately. Ana gave birth to Hekuron two months early and he weighed a little over 3 pounds. Now Hekuran is 3 months old. Ana lives in the poor community of Kavaje where we serve the children. She has had a problem with breastfeeding and her milk didn't come in. She hasn't had the money to buy him formula because it is very expensive here. Instead of formula she feeds him watered down yogurt with sugar. Hekuran is growing but is still very small and weak. Now Ana's husband has left them as well. Ana is a baptized believer and we are praying for her and her family to be reunited and follow the Lord. Please pray for them and their situation.  

Praises/ Prayers:  

*We are still getting opposition with the director of the Old Home pray for his heart to be open to us.     

*Funding of a new Church home for us.    

*Pray that more people would open their hearts to help us serve and grow Albania for Christ.   

*Praise David celebrated one year on Tuesday!

 
We would love to hear from you! God bless!

Serving in His name,
Arian & Stefanie Kosta
kkdurres@gmail.com
Address: L3 Rr Egnatia AP:1043 Durres, Albania
  Follow us on Facebook: Kisha Kristiane Albania

Donation address: Make check to McDonough Christian Church

McDonough Christian Church, Attn: Lisa Thomas-Albania building Fund, 2000 Jonesboro Rd. McDonough, Ga 30253

Serving the Least

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

Several years ago the WWJD bracelets were very popular among Christians. A great reminder of serving others with the heart of God. This verse (Matt. 25:40) always comes to my mind when I am interacting with others. How are you serving the least of these? When we are serving the kids in Kavaje I always keep a handkerchief in my pocket to wipe their runny nose, it is the least that I can do for these children. The most important thing I can do is show them the love of Christ. Don't forget to serve the least. 

This month serving the least outside of our ministry has been on our hearts. We visited an orphanage for handicapped children in Durres and spoke with the Director about ways that we could help them. As we were there we saw that the walls has lots of paint chipping off and were in dire need of repainting. We decided to buy the paint and repaint the walls ourselves. We painted two large rooms, two foyers, and a small clinic room. We are thankful for the volunteers of the church that were willing to serve.

 

Romi & Alex (resident)

Update on Building: We are still in the process of raising funds for our new building. We feel like the Lord is telling us to get out of the rent situation that we are in. That is why we need your help. Even as little as $10 per month would help us out tremendously! Please pray that we will be able to raise the funds. If you would like to donate see the donate button via paypal or the donate address below to send a check. If you have any questions please email us. 

What a great time of worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship we had for Easter this year! The youth had even decorated Easter eggs for all! Here are some pictures of our celebration. 

 

Member Spotlight:

We were very excited to have Mara (the mother of Klara who is sick in Italy) and her two children Kejsi and Klejdi with her at church on Sunday. Klara is still in Italy waiting on a bone marrow transplant and getting treatments there. A praise, Klara has been given a visa to stay in Italy as long as she needs to. This is a great blessing! Please continue to pray for Mara and her family. 

Praises/ Prayers:  

*Continue praying for the Old Home's director to be open to us.  
*Funding of a new Church home for us. 
*Pray that more people would open their hearts to help us serve and grow Albania for Christ.
*Praise David is doing well and growing fast. He likes to serve as well!

We would love to hear from you! God bless!

Serving in His name,
Arian & Stefanie Kosta
kkdurres@gmail.com
Address: L3 Rr Egnatia AP:1043 Durres, Albania

NEW:Follow us on Facebook: Kisha Kristiane Albania! 

  
Donation address: Make check to McDonough Christian Church

McDonough Christian Church
Attn: Lisa Thomas-Albania building Fund
2000 Jonesboro Rd.
McDonough, Ga 30253