By Wilma de Vries
It is an ordinary Monday when I park the car in front of the former café. Now it is the church. On the programme is an outreach: with a medical team we attend a local church to provide free medical care. In practice, it's mainly offering a listening ear, minor check-ups and giving advice. This day we focus especially on the children, as we have seen many malnourished children on previous visits.
We are on the early side and decide -according to Albanian custom- to first have a coffee at a café a little further down the road. A good opportunity to see a bit more of the village, where it turns out there is a lot of poverty. In the street, I see children playing who should really be at school. Someone is digging in the rubbish bins looking for something that makes money. Construction workers are working on a new building, where it seems safety is not the most important thing.
The person who wants to take our order focuses on me. I get a hug and in rapid Albanian she starts talking about me. The woman, whom I don't immediately recognise, piques my interest. I try to follow what she says about me. I hear the team respond with 'Lavdi Zoti' or 'Praise God'. In itself, it is not strange that she starts talking about me, because as a foreigner, I am easily recognised. What she tells makes me silent and grateful.
'You love me'
She talks about the last time we were in the village with our medical team. About the listening and the advice, the time we took and the impact it had on her life. There on a rickety chair in a poverty-stricken village, I am suddenly thrown the blessing on our work. As she tells her story, I recognise her too. Simple work, done in all love and dependence, has been blessed by the Lord. 'You showed that you love me, that I have value and now, like you, I also want to come to know Jesus'.
It took a while, but eventually we get our drinks. All in all, we still arrive late for our consultation hour in the church. This consultation hour for children is much needed, but at the same time it is also a trial. There is no money for doctors' visits. Most children educate themselves or each other. The tubes of toothpaste we brought with us are mistaken for sweets and emptied by the children. Fortunately, the apples are also in great demand, but only by the children who still have teeth in their mouths.
'Jesus loves me'
One child stands out. Unlike the dull eyes I see in the other children, he looks at me cheerfully. While the other children watch us from a distance, he seeks contact. Instead of hitting or pushing the other children, he comforts the crying children. We were not allowed to leave without a hearty hug from him and a "thank you for coming". The pastor later recounted how this little 10-year-old boy first joined the children's club. Every word he had imbibed. His questions kept coming and soon he had asked for a Bible. He had rapidly read that Bible from front to back and now it was his greatest treasure. They had seen him change from a street urchin, to someone who felt loved. As he put it so beautifully himself: 'Jesus loves me, lives in my heart and never leaves'.
The power of a local church
I have a nice conversation with the pastor and his wife about the challenges, but mostly about the blessing of being church. Two years ago, there was nothing more than a longing in their hearts. There was no church, no Christian present in the village. They had started walking through the village, making contacts and relationship building. People were physically and spiritually hungry. In a short time, four people came to faith and decided to rent a small building in faith. And now, so much beauty has emerged. Twenty-five families are faithfully involved in the activities. Men's group, women's group, children's club, involved youth and lots of desires for the future...and all in a small village where poverty seems to rule everything.
Easy
It seems so simple: making contacts, offering a listening ear, making someone feel that they are allowed to exist and are loved. And yet it is not. It takes courage, perseverance and dependence. We are just that: dependent on the God who works in us. Working through us. Dependent on His blessing. His blessing that He has so richly bestowed in this village so far. Praying for His continued blessing, we continue. Continuing to look for ways to ease the hardships of life, encourage the young believers and make others long for 'the Jesus who dwells in hearts and never leaves'.
