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

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Donation address: Make check to McDonough Christian Church

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

 

Power of Prayer

 

 

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Matthew 21:22

We completely believe in the power of prayer here. We have seen God do many great things by praying and believing. 1Timothy 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing". Sometimes I feel like I am bothering God by praying for the same thing over and over again. God just wants us to lay all at his feet.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6. Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2. We are very thankful to be working in a ministry and seeing the fruit of God's harvest through us. May we all continue to shine his light everywhere we go! 

We would like to thank you for your prayers for us a new church building. Please keep praying! We are in a rented space and pay $800 per month which is very expensive for Albania. They have just put a bar on the level under the church that plays live loud music all hours of the night and day which is not conducive for prayer meetings and bible studies. Plus we would love to have a space with more room. Well now we have found it! Our board in America has approved for us to start raising funds for a down payment on a new building. Now we need your help. We need 500 people to buy a square foot for $100.

Please share with your church, Sunday school class, and others. We would love to be in our new building for Christmas. If you would like to give you can donate here at our blog kkdurres.blogspot.com at the donate link via paypal. If you would like donate by check see the donation address below. 

More exciting news! We have been praying about changing women's bible study. It has not been very effective. Now with the help of God I (Stefanie) have been teaching in Albanian (Shqip) for the last month. The women are now encouraged and growing in their faith. We also have been going out and visiting a widow each week. Please pray that we will continue to grow and serve others. 

Men's bible study attended a conference March 15th here in Durres. Four men from the church went and heard about growing in their faith and being a leader in their family. The men were very encouraged by other believers from all over the country of Albania. 

Member Spotlight:

Romi and Shpresa Kellici were married on March 16th with our first ever ceremony at the church. Arian officiated the wedding. Arian was honored to perform his first wedding ceremony. We pray that Romi and Shpresa continue to put God first in their lives and their marriage. Congrats!

Praises/ Prayers: 
*Pray for growth in the women's and men's bible studies. 

*Director of the Old home he has limited us to only coming for a visit every week and not doing a service. Pray that he will open his heart to us.

*Funding of a new Church home for us.

*Praise David is doing better. We have had a month of colds and ear infections.  He turned 10 months yesterday!

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

 

Donation address: 

McDonough Christian Church

Attn: Lisa Thomas-Albania building Fund

2000 Jonesboro Rd.

McDonough, Ga 30253

If you would like be added to our email list please email us!

Beautiful Feet

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news! Romans 10:15

I never thought feet were beautiful. In Albania with all the walking and dusty streets your feet get dirty fast but walking is the main means of transportation. We walk to Church, to meet people, to buy things, and even just for fun. As we walk we talk with our neighbors as we pass and be an example every where we go. It takes us twice as long to get somewhere because we stop to greet people along the way. In modern day society I feel like we are turning into a culture of hurry up and go with no time for talking to others. I encourage you to take a walk and greet those you meet. Say hello to your neighbors and get to know the people around you. Use those God given feet and share the good news of Christ!

With the help of God we are accomplishing goals and building the kingdom of God. We have started a men's bible study in Kavaje. Three or four men are meeting together weekly in the house of Drita. We thank God that Drita continues to be a blessing by allowing her house to be open to others. 

We have also found a good lead on a building for the church in Durres. Please pray that all will work out and we can raise the money that we need to be able to purchase a church. Our space now is very cramped and it would be nice not to waste God's money on rent. 

Here is a list of our weekly activities in the churches in Durres and Kavaje. Please pray for these meetings, to see growth spiritually and physically. 

Tuesday- 10am- Bible Study Durres

Wednesday- 11am- Bible Study at Old home- Kavaje   

                   1pm- Kids Club- Kavaje

                   4:30pm- Church- Kavaje

Thursday- 10am- Women's Bible Study- Durres

                4pm- Prayer meeting-Durres

Friday- 9:30am- Women's Bible Study-Kavaje

          10:30am- Men's Bible Study- Durres

Saturday- 4pm- Youth Group- Durres

Sunday-10am-Church- Durres

             3pm- Men's Bible Study- Kavaje

Especially pray for the Old home in Kavaje. They have a new director and the new director would like us to limit our services to twice a month. The residents on the other hand would like to see us more than once a week. He would also like for us to give monetary donations to the Old home. We would like to help them occasionally but our budget is very small. We do purchase snacks for all the residents once a week. Pray that the director would be more open to us.

Member Spotlight:

One family in the church in Kavaje is very near and dear to our hearts. Vathja (mom), Fabian (son), and Miranda (daughter) has been coming to the church in Kavaje for a while now. Vathja is serving the Lord with all her heart and wants to be baptized but is scared of what her husband would do. Please pray for her husband Gezim that he would be more open to coming to church and knowing Christ personally. The children come to kids club regularly and enjoy coming to church. Pray that this family continues to grow in the Lord.

Praises/ Prayers: 
*Please pray for Romi & Shpresa, wedding is March 16th. 

*Director of the Old home

*Funding of a new Church home for us.

*Praise David is doing well. He turned 9 months yesterday!

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

If you would like be added to our email list please email us!

    

 

Be Still

Be Still....

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

I constantly need this verse. Be still..... sometimes it just doesn't exist.  With the pulls and tugs of every day life it is hard to keep up with what I have to do much less take time to be still. I thought in my singleness that I was so busy. Having a job and being active in church took up a lot of my time. Now with a husband, an 8 month old and full time ministry I scoff at the thought that I was busy then. Life at times pulls me in a million directions and it takes forever to get anything accomplished. Amazingly with the help of God things come together. I would love to have the time to be still but in actuality I would probably fall asleep if I had the chance. When I don't have the time to be still I want to try to mentally be still by having a calm mind by not worrying and thing of all the things I have to do. I want to find the time to take advantage of every moment, such as singing to my son while I am cooking, praying in the shower, and encouraging my husband while we walk from place to place. If you are like me I pray that you too make the time to mentally be still! 

We are very delighted that the church in Kavaje is growing. We had two new young men come to the church this week. We are also seeing spiritual growth. One family that was facing divorce has been reunited.  Drita, a faithful member of the church has been praying for her son Ervini and now he is coming to church. We love to see the Lord changing lives. We love this growing of the Lord in Kavaje especially when Kavaje is 99% muslim. What a Light to a Dark world! Please continue to pray for the Kavaje church.

We would like to share with your our Goals for 2014. Please pray for us to accomplish these goals this year.  

*Growth spiritually in the church in Durres and Kavaje. 

*People to confess Jesus as their savior and be baptized. 

*Elect a Deacon in the church in Durres and Kavaje. 

*Start English classes in Durres.

*Start a Kids club in Durres. 

*Start a men's Bible study in Kavaje.

*Purchase a building for the church in Durres. 

We have amazing news to share with you. Shpresa who is on our staff is engaged! We have been praying for a while for God to bring Shpresa a husband. Now prayers have been answered! Romi is a member of the church in Durres and has been helping us since April in Kavaje. Their plans are to get married in March. Since Shpresa's parents are diseased she has asked Arian and I to be her surrogate parents. She wants a simple church wedding and for Arian to marry them. We are very excited to have a new married couple at the church. 

Member Spotlight:

The member I want to share with you this week is Lume. She is a sweet spirit in the church of Kavaje. She always brings a smile to our face. Even though she is blind, she sees the world in perfect light, the light of God. She is always trying to make us laugh. Lume takes care of her ailing father who is now bed-ridden. She has a hard time affording the diapers that she needs to buy for him. Please pray for Lume and her dad. 

Praises/ Prayers: 
*Please pray for our Goals of 2014

*Pray for Lume and her dad

*Praise David is doing well. He will be 8 months on Monday!

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

If you would like be added to our email list please email us!

   

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2014!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Greetings from our family and churches to yours this blessed season! We pray that in the new year God continues to bless you abundantly! 

We have been busy the past couple of weeks preparing for Christmas. Christmas is a very busy time of the year that can often overwhelm you easily. Don't forget the true reason for this season. 

We were very anxious in the arrival of Stefanie's parents. Unfortunately they could not come at this time. Stefanie's dad had to have heart surgery and now is doing well. We pray that they can come again at another time. 

We want to send a big THANK YOU to all who helped us with sending toys to the children of Kavaje. A special thank you to CEF Albania, McDonough Christian Church, First Christian Church Dalton, Ga and Keswick, Va, Horsepasture Christian Church and Fruit Cove Baptist Church! It was such a blessing to share with the kids who don't get to experience Christmas.

Here's some pictures from our Christmas adventures. 

Worship and Youth Drama:

Dance to "I Love Jesus" Dr. Nikolla even joined in on the fun!

 

Youth and Kids Church Picture and Whole Church Picture:

Gifts for the Kids:

Praises/ Prayers: 

*We are actively seeking another church building for our church in Durres. Please pray that God will lead us to one we can afford to buy. 
*Pray that God continues to grow the church and His Kingdom in 2014 in Albania. 

Merry Christmas from The Kostas

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

If you would like be added to our email list please email us!

Always give Thanks!

Always give Thanks!

Rejoice always,  pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Now in this season of Thanksgiving we think about all the reasons we are thankful. God, family, friends, and ministry top my list of the things I am most thankful for. When I think about this verse from Thessalonians I wonder what Paul was thinking. I honestly would like to change the verse to say: Rejoice as much as possible, pray every time you think about it,  give thanks in most circumstances. This is something I can handle. Those words all, always, and continually are very hard for me at times. It is hard for me to rejoice when people are negative, Pray continually all day all the time, and give thanks in circumstances that are stressful. I need the constant reminder of this verse to keep me on track. My husband and I have this verse hanging over our bed and also in his office. No matter what happens we are certain of God's everlasting love and grace for us and we are so thankful of all of the many blessings that God has given to us. I encourage you not only to be thankful during this time but also every day of your life that God has given to you! 

We have many reasons to be thankful! God is hearing us and answering our prayers. Please continue to pray with us and for us! We have been praying for a growth with the youth. Now we are seeing this in the church in Durres. The youth meet every Saturday evening for a time of worship, prayer, lesson with accountability, and fellowship. The youth have been attending church more often and growing spiritually as well. We are so excited about this growth of the youth. On Sunday one of our youth Jak brought two of his friends to church to hear about the word of God. We pray that God continues this growth of the youth! 

Juli leading the Kids in Kavaje

Another answered prayer that we have is that Juli is now on staff with us. We are excited to have him and excited about how he can help us with the church of Kavaje. Juli graduated Bible school in May and is from Kavaje. He is ready to serve! 


Our third answer to prayer is that on October 27th we had our first baby dedication service. We were very excited to dedicate David to the Lord just as Hannah did for Samuel. Arian preached on baby dedication and then afterwards Dr. Nikolla lead the baby dedication service. We were also very excited that Arian's parents came with us to church that day. We pray every day for their salvation.

Baby Dedication with Arian's Parents

 

Praises/ Prayers: 
* Praise God for the growth of the youth! 
* Praise God for Juli now being a part of our staff.

* Praise God Stefanie's parents are coming for Christmas and New Years! What a blessing to us!  

* Pray for help in Kavaje to be able to lead more Bible studies with the believers of the church and start another Kids club in another neighborhood.  
* Pray for a bigger church space in Durres. 

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

If you would like be added to our email list please email us!