Way back in July, we asked you to pray for an English camp to be held among the ethnic-Macedonians who live in Albania.
The camp was held from August 7-12 and we had a great team of Californians and believing-Macedonians from Skopje who were the camp teachers. The camp didn't exactly go as planned!
It was a very stressful time (the first time I have ever had to evacuate a volunteer team!), yet God is going to use this in a special way.
What follows is the letter I sent to my family after the camp. It is rather long, but I think you will find it interesting!
First, in my prelim trips this year, I sensed more opposition than in times past. People were polite but distant, nice but not committing to anything. I knew we were going to have resistance to our English camp and to the gospel, but figured it would be from the priest and maybe some of the older people. Last year we averaged 45 kids per day of the camp. Our plan this year was to do English only in the morning and use the afternoons for home visits and have a “coffee discussion” time for young people in the evenings. The area of Albania is called Prespa. It is on the western shore of Lake Prespa and there are 8 Macedonian villages there. The people are 100% ethnic Macedonian, but have been part of Albania since 1913.
We got there on Saturday in time for supper and got settled in the hotels. The main hotel, where the bulk of the team was, and where the camp is held, is on the lake at a deserted spot, between two villages. There are only two hotels in the whole area, the other being in the farthest village. Don, Sandy, Kitty (Californians) and Gef (73 year-old teammate) were in that hotel. I was in the main hotel with 6 Amercian 20-somethings and 6 Macedonina 20 somethings. As expected, the main hotel had water problems! They had installed a pump, which was better than last year, but if the pump ran for too long the tank would overflow as there was no float valve. So, we had to turn the pump on in the morning to shower and again throughout the day as needed. However, when the electricity was off, which was almost every afternoon, there was no pump so no water! Sounds a bit like Africa! Actually, the conditions were just fine if you are ready for them. Bathing in the lake is no problem if it is expected. But, for our American girls, that was a little more than they were ready for.
I was a little surprised that none of the kids from last year’s camp came to see us on Saturday night, but didn’t think much of it. Sunday morning, we headed out to the little island that is about 10 minutes away and had a great time of praise and worship there. There is an old church- 12th century- on the island. It is tucked away in a little half-cave, really more of a big overhang. The floor of that cave is littered with rocks and is really rough. I told Kitty, my teaching teammate (it was her first trip to Prespa) that I see our current task there as moving rocks from the soil. We will do some planting, but mainly we are getting the field ready for sowing.
After worship, we went back to the hotel, had some orientation time and then headed out to the villages to remind kids that they needed to come for registration. While out, we were told that there was a big concert in town which started at the same time as our registration. Having that in mind, we told kids that they could come on Monday morning and still be part of the camp. Sunday evening, we had about 15 kids show up for registration, most in the 10-14 year range and all boys. That was weird, since the camp was supposed to be for 15 and up and last year we probably had more girls than boys.
Monday morning a few more boys showed up and we started the camp with just three groups of kids although we had planned for 7. That day went well and we had some good home visits. On those visits we ran into other kids and invited them to the camp. Most were polite and said they would come if they had time. That same evening, a couple of our guys were at one of the coffee-shop/bars looking for some of their friends from the previous year. They said that they had a very cold reception from the local 16-25 year-old crowd. Cold to the point of being rude. Obviously, something had happened or someone had been talking to the kids about us.
Tuesday morning we had a few more kids and a couple of girls. Camp went well that day and again, we had some good visits. From those visits we were able to piece together that the priests had been talking about us, saying that we were a dangerous sect. Somewhere in Albania some teenagers had apparenlty gotten involved in a suicide-cult and 2 or 3 of them had hung themselves. The priests were quick to put us in that grouping. So, some folks were scared and others were just suspicious. It was odd in that all the parents whom we visited were very happy to have us in their homes. The bad reaction was coming from the young folks!
Wenesday morning, we had another good morning of English camp. However, that afternoon, things started to unravel. I got back from two good home visits at about 4. When I pulled into the parking lot, where my van had been parked earlier, there was a small cardboard sign stuck to the bushes in front of my car. In very poor penmanship, and a mix of cyrillic and latin letters it said, “Protestants, isn’t there enough room for you in America?” I just stuck it in my car and chalked it up to some kids being trying to be funny. A little later, one of the waiters at the hotel asked for a Bible. I gave him one and a few minutes later went over to a table where he and some of his friends- the 18-25 crowd, were sitting, with the Bible in front of them. As I greeted them I noticed a page of the Bible torn out and lying on the ground. I picked it up and very heatedly rebuked them. I made it clear that no kind of Christian would treat the Bible that way. I took it away from them and walked off. My reaction was a little affected, because I wasn’t really surprised that they had done it, but at the same time I wanted them to know that we take that book seriously and that their lack of respect for it is a difference between us and them. The third thing that happened that day was for another waiter to proposition one of the American girls on the team. He offered her $5,000 to marry him and take him to America. It was probably a relatively harmless thing- I used to get offers for my sister, Cara, all the time!- but it made her very uncomfortable.
All these things together made Don and I rethink a few things. We had planned on staying till Saturday morning. The camp would end on Friday with a pizza lunch for the kids, we would stay Friday night and head out for Ohrid on Saturday early. Well, we knew there was going to be a big party in the village on Friday night. Knowing that would mean a lot of drinking and potential visits with drunk 20 somethings, we decided to leave town on Friday afternoon and have some extra time in Ohrid. I made a few phone calls, to get the van there earlier and to get hotel rooms in Ohrid. All was lined up and we felt good about continuing the camp as planned but making a slightly earlier than planned departure.
About 8:30 on Wednesday night, the owner, his wife and all the hotel staff packed up and left. Our group was there alone. We had planned a coffee-discussion time for the young folks, but noone showed up. So, we were singing some praise songs and enjoying fellowship. As I mentioned, the hotel is off to the side, 15 minute walk from the nearest village. The only thing nearby is the police-station. Most of the police men are Albanian and we can’t communicate with them.
At 8:45 a car pulled up, dropped off one guy and left. The guy was about 30 years old and big. He was wearing a tank-top and you could see his bulging muscles. He walked right up to me, looked me in the eye and said, “You are going to have big problems with me.” I asked why and he wouldn’t say, but started threatening to pull all of our documents and run us out of the country. He told us that he was mafia and would cause big problems. I was a little concerned at this, but could smell beer on him and figured he was just drunk. He then asked where the hotel-owner’s son was- Aleksander. I told him that they had all just left. He went and banged on the door and hollered Aleksander’s name a few times and then came back to where Don and I were standing, away from the group. He again told me that I would have big problems with him and then started to say what he wanted to do with the American girls in the group. I was looking for a way to get rid of the guy and kept telling him that there was no problem with us and that he should look for Aleksander elsewhere. He told me to take him to the next village to look for the guy (apparently they had argued over a girl) and I quickly agreed to do so. Don and one Macedonian kid, Marjan, got in the car with us and we headed to the next village.
There, we went into the hotel/restaurant where I know the owner very well. By now I was more than a little nervous. The guy was still very threatening, saying he would “take care of” me. Most of the threats were aimed at me personally. I walked into the restaurant and when I saw the owners eyes I got scared. When he saw who was with me his eyes got big and his face pale. While the guy, Sasi, was sitting down at a table I was able to say to the owner- “I have no idea who this guy is but I’m trying to get rid of him. Help!” Sasi made us sit down and have a drink with him. Much to his entertainment, Marjan and I had cokes while he had a beer. Don was watiting outside. Sasi continued with his verbal threats, bragging about whom he had killed and handicapped in the past and what he would do to me and to the girls in the group. Several times we said we needed to go and he would tell us to sit down. I was praying for a way to get out of there and leave him, but at the same time knowing that he could just walk to the hotel or get a ride with someone else and we would be in worse shape if he was really mad. After about ½ hour he decided we needed to go to another village to look for Aleksander. I agreed, hoping we could get rid of him there.
When we walked out to the car, Don was there waiting. Sasi went up to him and cussed him out in Macedonian, patting him on the shoulder rather roughly. I ducked back inside to ask the owner what to do and to ask him to come with us. He declined saying, “Don’t worry, he’s just drunk.” Well, that was exactly my worry! It wasn’t like the guy was under control.
We headed towards his home village and at a fork in the road he told me to go to another village so we could get some coffee. I declined, saying that he had already bought us a coke at the other place and there was no need for that, plus folks were waiting for us. As I pulled up to the fork in the road, he reached over, turned off the engine and pulled the keys from the ignition! Then he got out of the car and started to walk away! All three of us got out of the car and I was ready to take physical action at that point! However, I realized that this guy was strong! I had tried to hold onto the keys and he just pulled them right from my hand! After a couple of minutes of convincing, he gave the keys back and we continued on our way. We drove into the main village just as a bunch of young people were coming out of the bars/coffee shops. We saw the guy he was looking for, Aleksander, and he jumped out of the car to confront him. I turned around and was ready to get out of there when I saw to young guys whom I know. They came over to the car and asked me what in the world was I doing with Sasi! Again, their looks convinced me that this guy was trouble. I told them that I had nothing to do with the guy, but that he was trouble and had been very threatening. They said not to worry, and we drove off, back to the hotel.
When we got back to the hotel, the whole team was assembled and they were worried. The main issue was that we had no guarantee that this guy wasn’t going to come back! So, we quickly decided to move all the girls over to the other hotel. It is in the middle of the village and the owner is right there. However, before doing that, I decided to go to the police. At the police station, I mimed and grunted my best to let the guy know there was a problem at the hotel. He seemed to understand (he was Albanian) and by the time I had driven over there he had walked over. The road is windy, while he jus went on a foot-path. He had also called in a patrol and they arrived with a Macedonian police officer. I told them what had happened and they assured us that they would take care of things, but to go ahead and move the girls to the other hotel. I took the first group, and then, when I came back for the second group the police were back and had arrested Sasi! He as very mad at me and continued to threaten me and ask me why I was causing him so much trouble! They took him to the police station and told me to finish taking the girls and then come to the station to make a report.
I took the girls and had another conversation with the owner of the other hotel. He told me that Sasi causes trouble every week and that he had been in a fight in his hotel some time ago. However, I shouldn’t worry about the guy! I went back to the station and they asked me to make a report. Two of my guys, one of them being Marjan, who had been with me the whole time, were with me. Sasi was standing in the corner looking very belligerent and often interuppting. The Albanians would give him a cuff and tell him to stand up straight, not cross his arms etc. I gave a brief report, hitting the hightlights, and then the commander asked me to step outside with the Macedonian policeman. There they told me that Sasi was in my hands. If I wanted him to go to jail then he would, if not, then they would let him go with an apology! I felt like I was standing before Pilate as he was washing his hands! However, knowing that things might be worse if he is really Mafia and had to go to jail, I told them that I was willing to drop charges. We went back inside and they made him apologize, a rather backhanded, “I’m sorry you took it that way” apology. I also had to write a statment saying that I had dropped charges. At that, they told us not to worry and sent us on our way!
I got back to the hotel at about 12 and called to let Jackie know that all was okay. I had called her early, before going to the station, so she could be praying. It was comforting to know that both of us had Romans 8:28 in mind, although, in my great faith I was thinking, “God, how can you bring good out of this?!?”
I managed to get to sleep at about 3am and was awakened at 6am with a heavy rain. Around 8 I went over to the other hotel to talk to Don and see what their thoughts were for the day. Don’s wife, Sandy, categorically said, “We’re done.” The girls weren’t so much scared as frazzled and the idea of carrying on was out of the question. However, we had 17 people and room for 5 in my van! Even if we wanted to run there wasn’t anyway to make it happen! We arranged for a local van driver to come pick up 12 of the team and take them to Korce, a town in southern Albania about 45 minutes away. Don and Sandy had spent time there 2 years ago and they know the lay of the land and felt comfortable going there. The van couldn’t make it till 2:30, so we still had time to kill.
Well, at 9:15, in pouring rain, kids started so show up for English camp! I told the first ones who came that we probably weren’t going to have camp, but they hung around. By 10:30 we had about 15 boys gathered! Our team was weary and on edge, but I asked for 4 volunteers to sing some songs or play games with the kids and make it worth their while. The team stepped up to the bat, and after about an hour of good fun and loud songs, we gathered the kids up to give them t-shirts and send them off. I told them how proud we were of them and how well they had done. I also told them how sad we were that we had to end the camp, but that people in the valley were against us and were spreading lies against us. We told them that they are true witnesses of who we are and what we are about and that they should not allow anyone to lie to them. We asked them to hold on to the truth and to be assured of our love for them. Then, I prayed a prayer of blessing on them and their families and we sent them off. A couple of the kids started crying and that got some of us choked up! As they walked off into the rain, we just stood there and cried. At first I was crying out of love for those kids, they had really gotten under our skin. Then, my tears turned to tears of anger and I felt a very righteous anger- I would honestly say that I felt a little like God- as I thought of the sin that is waiting to warp those little guys. We had already seen how in one year good kids had gone from being our friends to being against us and the truth that that could happent to these kids really made me angry! That anger fueled me the rest of the day.
The bus came at 2:30 and I escorted the team to Korce. I got back at about 4:30 and I and the 4 Macedonian kids who stayed with me went on a couple of visits. We were able to sit down with some folks and talk about the night before. Most of them were shocked that we would pull the team out after one incident, but all of them admitted that the guy was a real trouble maker and had spent time in jail for drug traffiking and other stuff. A good friend of mine, also a relative of Sasi, told me that a few years ago, Sasi had molested some girls in the high-school. He was in jail, but my friend, being a good relative and also a teacher at the school, convinced the girls to drop the charges against him! That just added fuel to my righteous anger and I blasted him and all other adults who would listen. I told them that they have the responsibility to guide the next generation and as long as they are morally bankrupt they have nothing to offer the next generation. I feel like I was able to say things that under normal circumstances would not have been allowed. God really gave me the courage to speak up and do so in a very forceful way.
Oh, the policeman brought Sasi back to the hotel that night to apologize again. He told me that the Albanian police were looking for him, but the Macedonians were hiding him! “He’s our guy.” The policeman said. That really bothered me, but it also opened my eyes to some of the cultural issues that we are up against there. The fact that they are a minority gives them a complex and the added desire to stick together and buck the law and the system.
The best thing that came from all of this was a talk with the hotel owner’s wife- Dita. Dita and I have had a very good relationship over the last few months. Sasi is her first cousin! She was just crushed by all that had happened and was very embarassed that her relative had done this. I was able to talk to her for more than two hours about some of the big problems in the valley, but mainly about her personal need for Christ. She was very open. It was as if, instead of moving a few rocks, God had dynamited her heart open. I think this is true for other people there too. That evening, Dita prayed to have more faith. She, like most Orthodox folks, “believes” but has no concept of submission to God or obedience as an expression of that faith. I think we made huge inroads with her.
So, after a rather stressful Thursday, on Friday morning the guys and I headed out for Korce. We picked up the team there and went to Ohrid where we spent the night before coming home to Skopje on Saturday. I was so tired that I slept till 11:30 on Sunday morning (that was interuppted by getting up at 4:30am to send off the team). Really, I have felt tired since I got back until today, Wednesday. I think the 9 pounds I lost wasn’t just do to mediocre food! Stress may have had something to do with it!
Mom and Dad joined Jackie in making Pindjur, a Macedonian delicacy. It is kind of like a spicy relish. They made it with Vesa, a good friend of ours who hosts our Monday night Bible study. They used Vesa's family recipe and it turned out great.
Jackie samples the finished product!
Fall in Macedonia is fantastic. The five of us really enjoy hiking and this visit to Galicnik, in western Macedonia was a treat.
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Zrnosko, village, Prespa, Albania
